Wet Caulfield Track No Problem For Lord Of The Sky

Wet Caulfield Track No Problem For Lord Of The Sky

Lord Of The Sky will be hard to beat in Saturday's Bletchingly Stakes 2014 according to jockey Dwayne Dunn. Photo: Race Horse Photos Australia.

The bookies have the Robbie Laing-trained speedster installed as the odds-on favourite and jockey Dwayne Dunn is also supremely confident his mount Lord Of The Sky can salute on a wet Caulfield track in tomorrow’s Bletchingly Stakes 2014.

Caulfield is currently rated a Dead (5) and track manager Jason Kerr believes that is what it will stay for Saturday’s Bletchingly Stakes Day meeting.

“I don’t think we’ll get much better than that,” Kerr told Racing Victoria on Friday with windy conditions combing with showers to stop the track improving much further.

“It could improve a little bit with some wind around today, but then if get a shower set us back to where we are now.”

While some of the jockeys and trainers are on weather watch ahead of this year’s $150,000 Group 3 Slickpix Bletchingly Stakes (1200m), Dunn knows his plum ride Lord Of The Sky can handle any conditions.

“He can run exceptional time and the wet track is far from a problem for him,” Dunn told The Sydney Morning Herald.

One of eight hopefuls in the Bletchingly Stakes field for Saturday, three-year-old Danerich colt Lord Of The Sky has won five of their eight starts so far on everything from Good to Slow.

Dead tracks have been their best however as they’ve won three from five, giving them plenty of advantages for the weekend.

After back-to-back wins at the track to take their imposing, and growing, Caulfield record up to five wins from six starts Lord Of The Sky is installed as the $1.55 favourite in the Bletchingly Stakes odds.

That’s a firming price too in from $1.60 earlier today and one Dunn believes them worthy of.

“He’s the sort of horse that hits the ground and runs,” the former South Australian hoop said.

”He’s a powerful racehorse and has the unique ability to accelerate again mid-race, which is always a quality of a high-class racehorse.”

Their last start was an ultra-impressive four and a half length victory in the Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m) here on July 5 where they defeated a similar class to that which they face on Saturday.

Back-to-back Group 3 victories are then the goal for both the horse and Dunn who stays on after guiding them to victory in the Monash.

“Robbie (Laing) tinkered with the gear and took the norton bit off him and he raced well under those conditions,” Dunn said of Lord Of The Sky’s winning Monash effort.

One thing they do need to shrug however is their standing as a one-dimensional sprinter before they head onto bigger and better things in the spring including a possible Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) assignment.

“In a perfect world, we would like to see him get out in distance to say 1400 metres,” he said.

”It would largely add another string to his bow. At the moment, it’s a matter of what you see is what you get.

“There’s no wildcard to be produced and your opposition know this so he’s got to come out of that distance range to be even better.

“Ideally, you’d like to think he could get to 1400 metres and he’s a powerfully strong horse who could, at a longer distance, dictate to his rivals and have an explosive final 200 metres underneath him.

“That would be great, but at the moment he’s beating his rivals and at the same time his climb up the ladder has been against softer options, so he’s managed to build his confidence and is now a horse with a great future.”

With money coming for the short-priced favourite Lord Of The Sky dominates the markets but there are three other single figure hopes.

They are Monash Stakes runner-up Le Bonsir ($7) drawn on the rails and coming off a Flemington finals’ day second, fast-paced South Australian filly Thiamandi ($9) who won at the track last start and the 2012 Bletchingly Stakes winner Ready To Rip ($9.50) to be ridden by Brad Rawiller.

To get behind your favourites at Caulfield this weekend make sure you have an account open online at Ladbrokes.com.au – home of the famous $250 bonus sign-up bet.

Ladbrokes Australia is also offering a Bletchingly Stakes special, money back as a bonus bet if your horse runs second! Check out the site for limits, T&C’s.

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